Using JSON (with asp.net) is like wiping your ass with silk

I love mashups. Actually, I love everything about them, I love using them, I love making them, I love those who do everything they can to empower them. In my opinion, mashups are one of the most significant concepts the Web has invented, since they represent unlimited possibilities of integrating and reshaping things that are already done. The platforms out there are stable, so it's the creativity that sets the limits. These days, you can easily take data from anyone and do something else with it. Just don't forget to use JSON.

It was Twitter who first started dropping support for XML, which annoyed the hell out of me. I had to start rewriting things for JSON. This turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened, since JSON seems to be loved by everyone. It's super easy to use with jQuery, but since I'm a server-side type of a guy, it's even more important that it's cleverly integrated into asp.net. Fetch the data, store it, do crazy shit with it.

JSON is serializable into a .net object with a single line of code. Create the class with parameters compliant with the the specific JSON structure, serialize the response string into that class, and everything automagically works. Piece of cake, unlimited opportunities. Take Twitter for example:

Make the basic Tweet class:

public class Tweet
{
public string id_str;
public string text;
}

Create the request to access a tweet (funny, the hardest thing to do):